Analysis and use of NHIS data on trends in health status and service use

The purpose of this project is to illustrate how National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data can be used to generate a municipal health status profile of potential usefulness to local policymakers. The project will analyze 1985-1988 NYC NHIS data to identify trends in health status and the use of health care services. The findings will be compared to analyses from previous years (1979-1984) to help answer questions such as: Has the health status of New Yorkers improved? Has the gap between the health status of disadvantaged New Yorkers and other New Yorkers improved? The New York City Health Department, the United Hospital Fund and the Medical Research Association of New York City have indicated that this information will be useful for their health policy planning. The grantee will disseminate its report to the 30 urban communities across the country where similar NHIS data is available. Other dissemination activities include: publications, presentations at five national meetings (Association for Health Services Research, Public Health Conference on Records and Statistics, U.S. Conference of Mayors, U.S. Conference of Local Health Officers and annual meeting of the National Center for Health Statistics) and three regional workshops organized by the grantee.